千里之堤，溃于蚁穴

an ant hole may cause the collapse of a great dike (idiom) / huge damage may result from a moment's negligence

lit. an ant hole may cause the collapse of a great dike (idiom) / fig. huge damage may result from a moment's negligence

thousand

see 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1]

a thousand miles / a thousand li (i.e. 500 kilometers) / a long distance

variant of 裡|里[li3]

lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 裏|里[li3]

li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮|镇[zhen4] and neighborhood 鄰|邻[lin2] levels

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

dike / Taiwan pr. [ti2]

variant of 堤[di1]

to be dispersed / to break down / to fester / to ulcerate

used in 潰膿|溃脓[hui4 nong2] / Taiwan pr. [kui4]

(bound form) (of floodwaters) to break through a dam or dike / (bound form) to break through (a military encirclement) / (bound form) to be routed; to be overrun; to fall to pieces / (bound form) to fester; to ulcerate

to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / variant of 於|于[yu2]

(of time or place) in; at; on / (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for / (indicating a source) from; out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by

ant

cave / cavity / hole / acupuncture point / Taiwan pr. [xue4]